1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to coin trays for coin sorters, and more particularly to a pivoting coin tray.
2. Description of the Related Art
A coin sorter typically has a stationary coin tray which holds a batch of coins before or during sorting. The coin tray includes an opening which leads to the sorting mechanism. Coins in the tray flow or are scraped toward the opening to supply the sorting mechanism with a steady flow of coins.
Frequently in coin sorting operations, certain batches of coins are associated with a particular installation or individual. A courier who is responsible for retrieving coins from a route which includes a number of vending machines or coin-operated laundry facilities, for instance, verifies the amount of coins collected on a particular route with a coin sorter. Coin sorters are most commonly found in banks and other high volume installations which process many batches of coins per day. In these high volume installations, operators commonly process batch after batch as various couriers deposit coins collected on their routes.
It is important that the different batches of coins remain separated from one another so that an accurate accounting of a particular route or facility may be kept. To prevent the inadvertent mixing of different batches of coins, some type of closure is required to keep the different batches separated from one another in the sorter. The closure acts as a barrier which protects coins in the tray from flowing into the sorting mechanism while coins from a previous batch are being sorted.
Protecting the opening can be accomplished in a variety of ways. A hinged gate over the opening in a coin tray pivots to cover the opening so that a batch of coin may be dumped into the tray while the sorting mechanism processes a previous batch of coins. After the previous batch of coins has been sorted, the hinged gate pivots to uncover the opening so that the batch of coins in the tray may be processed. However, when the gate is closed, coins typically rest on top of the gate. Therefore, to open the gate, the coins must be moved. Additionally, some coins may not be counted because it is possible for coins to become lodged under an open gate. A "stopper" plug can also be used to protect the opening. However, unlike the hinged gate, the plug is separate from the tray and must be removed before coins may be processed. Therefore, the plugs are susceptible to loss.
A typical coin processing cycle includes preparing a batch of coins to be sorted, entering codes which identify the batch to be sorted, and sorting the coins. It would greatly accelerate the processing of consecutive coin batches if it were possible to multi-task the sorting process. Multi-tasking would enable all of the steps in the processing cycle to be carried out simultaneously. In the interest of increased throughput, a tray design requiring the minimum amount of manual operation would allow faster coin flow. This would free the operator to enter data and prepare the next batch for processing, as well as reduce the risk of accidentally mixing different batches of coins.